1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an A/V monitor mounting structure for a vehicle, and more particularly to an A/V monitor mounting structure for a vehicle, which allows a monitor installed on a center console of a vehicle to be received in the center console so that the monitor can be extended out of and retracted into the center console as the occasion demands.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is generally known in the art, in order to improve a driver's convenience while a vehicle travels on a road, an audio/video (A/V) monitor is installed on a crash pad which is provided in front of a front seat in a passenger compartment of the vehicle.
Referring to FIG. 1, an audio/video monitor is installed on a center panel which is provided to the center portion of a crash pad 2 and on which air-conditioning control switches, audio switches, etc., are also installed. Since the A/V monitor is usually installed adjacent to an audio system, the A/V monitor inevitably has a limited size. Further, because a driver or a passenger must bend forwards the upper part of his or her body forward and implement the necessary manipulations to operate the A/V monitor, safe driving of the vehicle cannot be ensured.
In order to cope with these problems, an A/V monitor mounting structure for a vehicle as shown in FIG. 2 has been disclosed in the art. In this A/V monitor mounting structure, an opening is defined at the right side of an instrument panel, and an A/V monitor is installed in the opening, so that a driver or a passenger can implement necessary manipulations without bending the upper part of their body.
While this type of A/V monitor mounting structure can be applied to a large-sized vehicle which has a crash pad capable of accommodating the size of the monitor, it is difficult to properly mount the monitor in a small-sized vehicle. Also, a drawback is caused in that, because the monitor is installed on the center portion of the crash pad, space utilization efficiency on the crash pad inevitably deteriorates.
In order to solve these problems, an A/V monitor mounting structure for a vehicle as shown in FIG. 3 has been suggested in the art. In this A/V monitor mounting structure, a monitor is coupled to a crash pad 2 by hinges, so that the monitor can be pivoted to a display position through manipulation by a user.
Nevertheless, this type of A/V monitor mounting structure still encounters a problem in that, since a front windshield glass is installed to be inclined with respect to a vertical plane, the space between the crash pad and the front windshield glass is narrow, and therefore, the size of the monitor inevitably decreases.